Huawei's Ideos X5 smartphone plays 720p video

Chinese network supplier Huawei Technologies believes it has a winner with its Ideos smartphone brand and is releasing another device under that name to the global market.

The Ideos X5 runs Android 2.2 OS like the previous model, called simply the Ideos, but has a larger touchscreen at 3.8 inches, a better camera at 5 megapixels, and 720p high-definition video playback.

Huawei will release the device this month in Hong Kong, Singapore and New Zealand, said Victor Xu, Huawei's chief marketing officer, in a webcast on Friday. Huawei expects to sell the phones in the U.S. in mid-2011. Telecom operators in Western Europe, the Middle East and South Africa have also made orders for the device, he added.

The X5 is the second Huawei smartphone to be released under the Ideos brand. Huawei marketed the first Ideos smartphone as an affordable handset, selling it to operators for between $100 and $200. It sold more than a million of the phones in 70 countries in the two months after its September release. The U.S. has been the biggest market for the device, with 1 million shipped there by the end of 2010.

Xu said the Ideos X5 will cost between $250 and $300.

While Huawei is better known as supplier of telecommunications equipment, the company also builds handsets for mobile carriers to re-brand and then sell. The company has launched ten Android smartphones to date, and plans to launch another ten this year. In 2010, Huawei shipped more than 3 million Android smartphones.

Huawei's Ideos brand also includes tablets. Last year, the company launched its S7 tablet under the brand in the U.S., U.K., and Australia. The device costs from $300 to $400.

The screen was particularly good. It is bright and visible from most angles, however heat is an issue, particularly around the Windows button on the front, and on the back where the battery housing is located.

My first impression after unboxing the Q702 is that it is a nice looking unit. Styling is somewhat minimalist but very effective. The tablet part, once detached, has a nice weight, and no buttons or switches are located in awkward or intrusive positions.

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